Mouth prop and light carrier



A. G. WRIGHT MOUTH PROP AND LIGHT CARRIER Filed Nov. s, 1958 Patented May 21, 1940 UNITED STATES -MOUTH PROP AND LIGHT CARRIER Alfred G. Wright, Philadelphia, Pa. Application November 3, 1938, Serial No. 238,614

4 Claims.

The invention relates to mouth props and to provision for holding upon the prop operating lights and for facilitating the adjustment of the lights.

One purpose of the invention is to simplify the adjustment of the prop to different sizes of mouth opening, rendering manufacture easy and inexpensive and permitting rapid adjustment.

A further purpose is to use a spring to make uniform the friction in a lamp adjustment.

A further purpose is to provide for positioning and removal of a tongue-depressor by simple and effective means.

A further purpose is to provide a plurality of spring-pressed ball and socket joint adjustable connections within the extent of the support for an operating lamp, making it possible to adjust the support at a variety of positionsand. to hold it securely in adjusted position.

A further purpose is to support an operating lamp within a spring clamp which permits longitudinal and rotatorial adjustment of the clamp without altering the clamping means. A further purpose is to spring-press ball-type supporting members in opposite directions toward enclosing ends of sleeves, thus forming articulate joints, increasing the frictional hold of the ball-like ends against the socket ends of the sleeves and holding the parts in position.

Further purposes will appear in the specification and in the claims.

I have preferred to illustrate my invention by one main form, selecting a form which is practical, effective and inexpensive, but which has been selected because it well illustrates the principles of the invention.

Figure 1 is aperspective view of a mouth prop and light embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a section of Figure 1 taken upon line 2--2 of that figure.

Figure 3 is an elevation of the structure of Figure 2 taken from the right in that figure.

Figure 4 is a section of Figure 2 taken upon line 4-4.

Figure 5 is a section of Figure 2 taken upon line 5-5.

Figure 6 is an elevation of the structure seen in Figures 1 and 2 taken from the left in Figure 2.

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal section of Figure 2 taken upon line 1-4.

Figure 'la is a section corresponding with Figure 7 but showing a modified form.

In the drawing similar numerals indicate like parts.

The body of the mouth prop includes two sliding plates l0 and Il, one of which is reversely turned at the edges to afiord guides l2 for the other. The plates support jaw engaging terminals l3 and I4 and latch mechanism by which the plates may be held in adjusted position.

One of the plates is longitudinally slotted at v I5 and one edge along the slot is kerfed or notched to provide prongs I6 and intervening latch notches I! in such position asto be engaged by a pin l8 supported in the otherplate. The pin is spring-pressed to the latching position in any of the notches by a spring l9 anchored at 20. The pin is adapted to travel along a slot 2|.

The anchorage for the spring is conveniently used as the support for the head 22 forming one attaching end for an articulated support 23 by which a lamp construction is carried.

One of the terminals l3 or M, 14in the illustration, is curled at the end 24 and intermediately cut away at 25 to permit the insertion of one end of the stem 26 of a tongue depressor 21 throughthe cut in the curled end. The stem of the depressor is widened to form shoulders at its upper end at 28 so that, when the depressor has been slid to place this wider part, the shoulders will fit under the prongs 29 and 30 upon the terminal. When the stem of the tongue depressor is pushed into theposition shown in Figure l, the prongs 29 and the upper portion 28 of the stem will then interlock to prevent any movement of the tongue depressor other than longitudinally with respect to the stem.

The terminal 14 is provided with a central rib 3] which is notched atthe sides at 32 and 33 so as to permit the reversely turned fingers 34 upon. the end of the stem to pass through. these notches perpendicular to the plane of that part of the rib so that the end 35 of the stemcan be pressed down against the rib at the notches, passing the fingers 34 back of the rib 3| where with further inward longitudinal movement of the depressor they interlock with unnotched parts of the rib and act as guides in further longitudinal movement of the stem of the tongue depressor along the rib. The tongue depressor is thus held firmly at two points, and is frictionally held resiliently from too easy longitudinal movement, the stem being formed with a bend at 26' requiring it to be sprung slightly for insertionin the-terminal. i Y i The support of the lamp is eifected by a series of universally jointed links which are resiliently kept together at the joints to hold any set position, the joints being free enough to permit alteration of the position and direction of the lamp but held tightly enough together to support the and 7a.

As shown this universally adjustable stiff link support between the lamp and plate comprises head projections from the plate and. from a suitable lamp carrier, sleeves interiorly reduced at the ends to form at-each end a socket connection one for one head and the otherfor another head, a headed link presenting a head in each of the adjacent ends of difi'erent sleeves and springs within the sleeves compressed between the heads in opposite ends of the sleeves and thereby resiliently holding the links in any set position.

The head 22 is rigidly mounted upon the plate H. It presents to-the sleeve socket under-surfaces 38 of general ball form and whether these heads be parts of ball 31 as in Figure-7 or be mere convex shells 38 as in Figure 7a they are considered alike as"balls or heads in this description.

The heads 3'! at opposite sleeve ends are pressed tightly into the respective ball sockets by means of a spring 39. This may press directly against the terminal as inFigure 7a or may press against a plug 413 which engages the terminal (ball in this case) as in Figure '7. The plug carriesa pin 49' rigid with the plug, which pin fits into the spring.

Thesockets are formed in opposite ends of a sleeve ll and the pressure of the spring holding the rigid head in the socket fixes the direction of the sleeve until sufiicient force has been exerted to alter therelatlon between the ball face and the socket. a

In the construction shown in Figure 7a similar heads 38' having ball-like faces 36 are pressed bythe same type of spring against cooperating sockets inopposite ends of the sleeve.

The head 3'! or38' is made-rigid with a similar head 31 or 38 whose surface cooperates with a socketin a second sleeve M. At the opposite end of the second sleeve is a head 31 or 33 rigid with the spring clip 42 within which the lamp is carried. A spring 39 presses heads 3? (or 38 and 31 (or 38 against their respective sockets to hold the parts in position but to permit angular movement in any direction of one with respect to the other at each of the ends of each of the sleeves 'll and M, producing a continuing universal joint support.

The spring clip 42 permits insertion of a split spring sleeve 23 lengthwise of the clip 42 and the split spring sleeve 43 forms a case within which the lamp unit 5% may be slid and by which it is engaged.

The holdof the clip 42 upon the split sleeve 43 tightens the split sleeve upon the lamp unit to a considerably greater friction than would be represented by the grip of the split sleeve alone.

Any suitable lamp 45 may be used, the rays of the lamp passing out through the end of the split sleeve at 4B and through a side opening t! adjacent the end of the tube. Electric current supply for the lamp is provided by connecting cord 48 from any suitable supply not shown.

In operation the tongue depressor is inserted by combined fiat-wise and then end-wise movement of the ends of the guide fingers with respect to the central rib including movement of the shoulders beneath the guard prongs. The two plates ii and H are adjusted longitudinally of each other by releasing the spring pin,sliding one plate on the other and resetting the pin. The clamp is then introduced into the mouth of the 5 patient with suitable wadding-shown in dot and dash (Fig. 2)and the lamp is adjusted in position anddirection for the intended function.

In view of my invention and disclosure variations and modifications to meet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art, to obtain all or part of the benefits of my invention without copying the structure shown, and I, therefore, claim all such in so far as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a mouth prop, pair of plates each carrying guards adapted to be engaged by the teeth of the patient, a turned edge on one of the guards open at the central end, having facing projections spaced from'the guard, a rib on the guard having notches at the sides of the rib and a tongue depressor having guides adapted to pass through the notches and engage the rib and having shoulders adapted to fit under the projections.

2. A tongue depressor having'a stem and shoulders near the middle of the stem, a reduced stem portion adjacent the shoulders and reversely turned guiding projections at the end of the stem in combination with a mouth prop having a tooth receiving guard member inwardly turned and slotted at one end to engage the shoulders and having a guiding central portion longitudinal with respect to the guard notched to pass the projections and forming a guide bearing against the reduced stem.

3. In a mouth prop having a body and terminals transverse to the body adapted to be engaged by the teeth of the patient, a rib supported by one of the transverse terminals and preventing lateral movement between the two,

one of them laterally movable across the length of the rib and then longitudinally movable into overlappingv holding position and the other formed by an overlap of rib and depressor longitudinally movable along the rib to locking position.

4. A mouth prop having a body and terminals transverse to the body adapted to be engaged by the teeth of the patient, a rib supported by one of the transverse terminals and passing transverse to the body, a tongue depressor and spaced locking mechanism between the tongue depressor and the rib, each guiding longitudinally with respect to the other and preventing transverse separating movementof the depressor and rib and spring contact engagement of the depressor against the rib between the two mechanisms subjecting the locking mechanisms to lateral pressure of the depressor with respect to the rib, whereby the parts are held in adjusted position.

ALFRED G. WRIGHT. 

